Perplexity AI Launches Comet Plus: A New Revenue-Sharing Model for Publishers in the AI Age

Perplexity Will Share Revenue From AI Searches With Publishers

Artificial intelligence systems need content to produce results, and they've been criticized for not paying the people who wrote and edited that content. Now, Perplexity AI, the AI-powered search engine, is introducing Comet Plus. This new subscription tier will distribute revenue to publishing partners whenever readers use AI to glean or deliver journalistic content, the company said in a blog post on Monday. In the AI age, high-quality information is key, and Perplexity contends that publishers should be compensated for bringing AI users that content. According to Bloomberg, the company has allotted $42.5 million for the partner program and is currently looking for publishing partners. The tier costs users $5 a month but will be included for free to those with a Perplexity Pro or Max subscription. "To put it simply, AI gives a lot more power to users, who don't like spammy clickbait and never have," says Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity's head of communications, in a statement. "The right business model for the AI age should ensure publishers and journalists benefit from improving the internet." Perplexity says it'll compensate publishers in three ways: via human visits, search citations and agent actions. The first one is obvious: Whenever someone uses Perplexity to research content online, clicking out to a publishing partner will net some compensation. The second way is whenever Perplexity cites a piece of content in its AI summary, which will also activate revenue share. Lastly, whenever Perplexity's AI visits a publisher website to do some task on behalf of the user, that'll net compensation. Comet is also the name of Perplexity's new AI-powered web browser, which is currently being tested among a select group of users. Comet uses AI to summarize the websites you are browsing and can perform tasks on your behalf. With the rise of AI chatbots, publishers have become increasingly litigious regarding the use of their content. Because AI models are trained on online content, including material researched, written, edited and funded by publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others, publishers feel they should be compensated. Publishers have filed multiple lawsuits against AI companies, including Perplexity and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) AI models need access to high-quality information to improve and continue being a one-stop shop for information. Publications are now inking licensing deals with AI companies to sell this content. Perplexity's move expands that to include data crawling for AI training and agentic use cases.

Perplexity has cooked up a new way to pay publishers for their content

Perplexity is launching a new revenue-sharing plan for publishers that will pay them every time its AI assistants use an article to answer a question, The Wall Street Journal reports. Perplexity is launching the plan (and partially paying for it) with a new Comet Plus subscription that gives subscribers access "to premium content from a group of trusted publishers and journalists." Comet Plus costs $5 per month, and based on Perplexity's description, it's primarily designed to account for the actions its Comet Agent (included in the Comet browser) takes on websites, which aren't considered in existing publisher deals. "When you ask Perplexity to synthesize recent coverage of an industry trend, that's indexed traffic," the company writes. "When Comet Assistant scans your calendar and suggests articles relevant to your day's meetings, that's agent traffic." The company's existing Publisher Program, which counts publications like TIME and Fortune as participants, shares ad revenue based on the traffic a Perplexity search is stealing away by providing a summary of an article. The money shared through Comet Plus will presumably account for what's lost when an AI agent visits a webpage on your behalf, zooming past ads you'd normally see or hear. Publishers will get 80 percent of the revenue of Comet Plus, according to Perplexity, with the remaining 20 percent allocated to "compute." The Wall Street Journal writes that Perplexity will initially pay participating publishers out of a "$42.5 million revenue pool" that will expand over time, presumably as sign-ups grow for Comet Plus, and the Comet web browser becomes available to more people. That starting sum likely takes into account Perplexity's existing Pro and Max subscribers, who will receive Comet Plus as part of their subscriptions and are paying into the revenue-sharing scheme by default. It sounds generous on its face, and maybe with a large enough volume of subscribers it will be, but 80 percent of $5 is $4. That's $4 that will presumably unlock unlimited access to a publication's entire library of content. Most newspapers charge anywhere from $20 to $30 per month to access all of their articles. Why would they settle for less? It's not clear if this plan replaces Perplexity's existing Publisher Program, or will exist alongside it. It's also hard to say if not paying for Comet Plus will change the quality of responses you receive in Comet or Perplexity. Engadget has contacted Perplexity for more information and will update this article if we hear back. Perplexity likely wouldn't be exploring new revenue-sharing plans if it hadn't already been caught plagiarizing articles in the first place. The company wants its agentic browser to be a success, and that ideally requires a certain amount of participation from the people who create the articles, images, and videos agents browse. It remains to be seen if Comet Plus is the kind of arrangement that will make publishers play ball.

Perplexity AI to share search revenue with publishers

San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - Perplexity AI on Monday said it will begin paying out millions of dollars to media outlets as part of a new model for sharing search revenue with publishers. The company's media partners will soon get paid when their work is used by Perplexity's browser or AI assistant to satisfy queries or requests, according to the San Francisco-based startup. "We're compensating publishers in the model that's right for the AI age," the Perplexity team said in a blog post. The payouts will be administered via a subscription service to be rolled out in the coming months, dubbed Comet Plus, which the startup described as a program that ensures publishers and journalists benefit from new business models enabled by AI. A $42.5 million pool of money has been set aside to share with publishers and is expected to grow over time, according to Perplexity. "As the web has evolved beyond information to include knowledge, action, and opportunities, excellent content from publishers and journalists matters even more," the Perplexity team said. The company will charge a $5 monthly subscription for Comet Plus, which will be an added perk for those who already pay for premium versions of Perplexity. Perplexity is one of Silicon Valley's hottest startups, whose AI-powered search engine is often mentioned as a potential disruptor to Google. But the company has been targeted with lawsuits by media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, claiming the startup unfairly profits from their work. One suit accuses Perplexity of illegally copying and reproducing copyrighted content from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post to power its AI-driven "answer engine." A revenue-sharing model by Perplexity would be a peace offering to publishers and bolster its defenses against accusations of free-riding on their work. Unlike ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude, Perplexity's tool provides up-to-date answers that often include links to source materials, allowing users to verify information. And unlike a classic search engine, Perplexity provides ready-made answers on its webpage, making it unnecessary for users to click through to the source website. Google, meanwhile, has built powerful AI into its search engine and offers AI-generated summaries with query results. After a lawsuit by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in October, Perplexity criticized the "adversarial posture" of many media as "shortsighted, unnecessary, and self-defeating." They "prefer to live in a world where publicly reported facts are owned by corporations, and no one can do anything with those publicly reported facts without paying a toll," it said at the time. "We should all be working together to offer people amazing new tools and build genuinely pie-expanding businesses."

Perplexity AI to share search revenue with publishers - The Economic Times

Perplexity AI on Monday said it will begin paying out millions of dollars to media outlets as part of a new model for sharing search revenue with publishers. A revenue-sharing model by Perplexity would be a peace offering to publishers and bolster its defenses against accusations of free-riding on their work.Perplexity AI on Monday said it will begin paying out millions of dollars to media outlets as part of a new model for sharing search revenue with publishers. The company's media partners will soon get paid when their work is used by Perplexity's browser or AI assistant to satisfy queries or requests, according to the San Francisco-based startup. "We're compensating publishers in the model that's right for the AI age," the Perplexity team said in a blog post. The payouts will be administered via a subscription service to be rolled out in the coming months, dubbed Comet Plus, which the startup described as a program that ensures publishers and journalists benefit from new business models enabled by AI. A $42.5 million pool of money has been set aside to share with publishers and is expected to grow over time, according to Perplexity. "As the web has evolved beyond information to include knowledge, action, and opportunities, excellent content from publishers and journalists matters even more," the Perplexity team said. The company will charge a $5 monthly subscription for Comet Plus, which will be an added perk for those who already pay for premium versions of Perplexity. Perplexity is one of Silicon Valley's hottest startups, whose AI-powered search engine is often mentioned as a potential disruptor to Google. But the company has been targeted with lawsuits by media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, claiming the startup unfairly profits from their work. One suit accuses Perplexity of illegally copying and reproducing copyrighted content from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post to power its AI-driven "answer engine." A revenue-sharing model by Perplexity would be a peace offering to publishers and bolster its defenses against accusations of free-riding on their work. Unlike ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude, Perplexity's tool provides up-to-date answers that often include links to source materials, allowing users to verify information. And unlike a classic search engine, Perplexity provides ready-made answers on its webpage, making it unnecessary for users to click through to the source website. Google, meanwhile, has built powerful AI into its search engine and offers AI-generated summaries with query results. After a lawsuit by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in October, Perplexity criticized the "adversarial posture" of many media as "shortsighted, unnecessary, and self-defeating." They "prefer to live in a world where publicly reported facts are owned by corporations, and no one can do anything with those publicly reported facts without paying a toll," it said at the time. "We should all be working together to offer people amazing new tools and build genuinely pie-expanding businesses."

Perplexity Launches Subscription Program That Includes Revenue Sharing With Publishers | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. "Comet Plus transforms how publishers are compensated in the AI age," the company said in a Monday (Aug. 25) blog post. "As users demand a better internet in the age of AI, it's time for a business model to ensure that publishers and journalists benefit from their contributions to a better internet." Perplexity introduced its Comet AI-powered browser in July, saying the tool lets users answer questions and carry out tasks and research from a single interface. Bloomberg reported Monday that Perplexity has allocated $42.5 million for a revenue sharing program that compensates publishers when their content is used by its Comet browser or AI assistant. The program will use funds that come from Comet Plus and will deliver 80% of the revenue to publishers, with Perplexity getting the other 20%, the report said, citing an interview with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. "AI is helping to create a better internet, but publishers still need to get paid," Srinivas said in the report. "Sowe think this is actually the right solution, and we're happy to make adjustments along the way." Media outlets have launched a series of legal actions against AI companies, accusing them of copyright infringement. At the same time, some AI companies and new publishers have formed partnerships that cover not only training data but also the search business. Perplexity was sued in October by two News Corp.-owned publishers -- The Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones and the New York Post -- that alleged that Perplexity did not respond to a letter in which they outlined their concerns about the company's use of their copyrighted material. Srinivas said at the time that Perplexity wanted to form revenue-sharing partnerships with news publishers and that the company could supply publishers with chatbots that would respond to users' queries on the publishers' websites, using their content to provide answers. "I don't think just licensing content is the only solution," Srinivas said in October. "Neither am I saying our publisher program is already there. I hope that more conversations will get us there." It was reported in June that the BBC threatened legal action against Perplexity, alleging that the AI startup's "default AI model" was trained using BBC material and demanding that it cease all scraping of its content, delete any copies used for AI development and propose financial compensation for the alleged copyright infringement.

Perplexity AI Pledges Payouts to Publishers Through New Browser Program | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Chief Executive Officer Aravind Srinivas said the plan is intended to ensure that publishers benefit financially from AI-driven search. "AI is helping to create a better internet, but publishers still need to get paid," he said. The company's new approach comes as the media industry has clashed with artificial intelligence platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews, which many publishers argue divert traffic away from their websites. Per Bloomberg, Jessica Chan, who leads publisher partnerships at Perplexity, argued that relying on page clicks is "an old model" and described the company's plan as a way to establish "a new standard for compensation." The program is tied to Perplexity's Comet browser and its AI assistant. Publishers will earn revenue when their work is surfaced in search results, drives web traffic, or assists in task completion. Funding for the payouts will come from Comet Plus, a new $5-per-month subscription that grants users access to a curated selection of publisher content. Publishers will retain 80% of the subscription revenue, with Perplexity taking the remaining share. According to Bloomberg, this model contrasts with the multimillion-dollar licensing deals struck between larger AI firms and major outlets, making Perplexity one of the first AI startups to tie payouts directly to content usage frequency. Read more: Perplexity Seeks Chrome Takeover as US Weighs Breaking Up Google Although Perplexity did not disclose which publishers are already onboard, the company has previously partnered with Time, the Los Angeles Times, and Fortune on ad-revenue-sharing initiatives. Still, the startup is also facing resistance. Forbes and Condé Nast have accused it of misusing content in AI-generated summaries without consent, and Perplexity recently failed in an attempt to dismiss a copyright case brought by Dow Jones and the New York Post. "We are confident AI companies will win all of these lawsuits," company spokesperson Jesse Dwyer said, noting the goal is to clarify the law quickly so "everyone can benefit from AI." Beyond publishing disputes, the company has also been criticized by Cloudflare Inc., which accused Perplexity of bypassing protective blocks to scrape website data. Srinivas has pushed back on those claims, saying its AI assistant does not engage in traditional web crawling but instead retrieves information from websites at the request of users. He argued that this activity differs significantly from the large-scale data collection employed to train AI systems. Perplexity, which raised $100 million last month at a valuation of $18 billion, has also made headlines with a bold $34.5 billion offer to acquire Google's Chrome browser, a deal floated as regulators weigh whether Google should divest the product. While some industry observers dismissed the proposal as unrealistic, Srinivas maintained that the company has serious financial backers. "We have yet to hear back from Google," he added.

Perplexity to give media giants share of AI search revenue -- as it...

Perplexity is launching a program to allow traditional media firms to collect a share of the revenue their articles generate for the AI platform - a move that looks like an attempt to fend off legal action from industry giants. The Jeff Bezos-backed startup has set aside $42.5 million to be distributed among publishers in the program, according to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. "AI is helping to create a better internet, but publishers still need to get paid," Srinivas told Bloomberg. "So we think this is actually the right solution, and we're happy to make adjustments along the way." Perplexity plans to fund the program with revenue from Comet Plus, its new subscription tier for the web browser. Comet Plus will cost $5 a month and create a curated selection of content from publishers partnered with Perplexity, similar to Apple's Apple News + offering, Srinivas said. Publishers will reap 80% of Comet Plus revenue, with Perplexity taking the rest. The media industry has been in an uproar over Google's AI-generated summaries, which appear at the top of Chrome search results, and OpenAI's ChatGPT, claiming the bots have slashed web traffic to their sites. Last week, a New York federal court denied Perplexity's bid to dismiss a lawsuit from News Corp. - which owns The Post and Dow Jones - accusing the AI startup of ripping off its copyrighted content. Forbes and Condé Nast have sent cease-and-desist letters to Perplexity, accusing it of using their content without permission. "We are confident AI companies will win all of these lawsuits," Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer told Bloomberg. "We look forward to settling the law on this early on, so that everyone can benefit from AI." Perplexity did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Cloudflare has also accused Perplexity of crawling the web and swiping data from websites by skirting around software blocks. Perplexity has argued that its AI assistant is not actively crawling the web, but instead accessing websites at a user's request, so it should have different rules to follow. When people use AI agents to "go and read something on their behalf, that's different from a web crawler," which downloads information to train new AI models, Srinivas said. Under the new program, publishers will earn money when their content receives traffic through Perplexity's Comet web browser, appears in queries on Comet or is used to complete tasks by Comet's AI assistant. Perplexity is working on its own AI-powered search engine as it hopes to rival Google's Chrome - which the Justice Department is pushing to be sold off due to antitrust concerns. Traditional media outlets that rely on web traffic and clicks to keep business afloat are operating with "an old model," said Jessica Chan, head of publisher partnerships at Perplexity. "We just want to create a new standard for compensation," she told Bloomberg. Several AI giants, including OpenAI and Google, have clinched multimillion dollar deals with publishers to license and distribute their content, but Perplexity is the first to offer up this revenue-share program. It is unknown which publishers have already signed up, though Chan said Perplexity is in talks with its previous partners - a group that includes Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times and Fortune magazine. Like many other AI startups, Perplexity has continued to raise massive amounts of funding - bringing in $100 million at an $18 billion valuation last month. It recently offered to pay $34.5 billion to take over Google's Chrome browser, in anticipation that the US government might force Google to sell the web tool to break up the company. Srinivas said the offer is a legitimate one, with "well-funded people who want to back us." He said Perplexity has not yet heard back from Google. Google did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.